Clifton Young Adult Library/Community Center

Kate Milham

Concept Statement:

Books allow readers to escape to other worlds and realities far from our own. They present a journey to us that we follow from title to end page. I wanted to create the same unique experience when building my library. Throughout this project, I ran with the phrase “Never judge a book by its cover.” The cover could be boring, but the context otherworldly. I transformed this phrase into a library, using a primary orthogonal exterior and contrasting it with an organic interior. Allowing parts of the interior to extrude onto the exterior gave my library a hint of mystery and excitement that hooks passersby.  My goal was to create an experience or journey, just like what a book gives you when you pick it up. 

Site Context


Sublevel and Level 1 Floorplans

Level 2, 3, and 4 Floorplans


Longitudinal and Transverse Sections

Exterior Perspective: Front

Exterior Perspective: Back

North and South Elevation

East and West Elevation

Interior Perspective: Reading Room

Interior Perspective: Cafe

Vignettes

Diagrams